Sorry, this is gong to be a bit long.
Every year at this time I try to do an assessment of the year just past, both in terms of IPSC and in terms of everything else in my life, to see how things went and how I would like to change or improve them as I move forward. Usually I end up doing my R & D on my shooting techniques and/or my equipment as I try to find areas that I can improve on for the coming season. This year however feels a little different. I am still doing the same things I always do, but this season I have a more retrospective mindset than usual. This is because in the course of a casual conversation last week, someone pointed out something to me that gave me a bit of a start and it got me thinking about this “organism” we call IPSC in a different way.
The comment was that I was one of two people in Ontario that he knew of who had been in IPSC the longest, and until a few days ago I had never even considered this. I started shooting this sport back in 1985 or 86, and I have been addicted to it ever since. While there may indeed be a few out there who have been at it longer, most have not. Many have come and gone, but a few of us have stayed, and I suspect for many of the same reasons.
I have the attention span of a five year old. I need constant stimulation and challenge or I get bored very quickly. I have tried many sports in the past and many hobbies, and all have fallen by the way side. They just didn’t have enough of whatever it was that I needed to hold my interest. IPSC has kept me not only interested, but passionately so for all these years. There is always another level to climb to; always a lesson to learn or re-learn; always a new technique to discover; always a new technology to play with and always another division to try out. And then there are the people.
In no other facet of my life to I feel as connected to a group of people as I do in this sport. IPSC people are the best people. They are MY people. Sure, it’s a shameless bias but I have always felt this way. I felt this from the first day I came to an IPSC range to see what the game was all about, and I still feel it to this day. It is this sense of community that keeps me coming back, as much as it is the challenge of the sport itself. From the selfless R.O.’s, match organizers and officials who always give freely of their time to make our events as much fun as possible for all of us, to the rawest beginners who jump in with both feet, and the seasoned competitors who constantly push me from behind or pull me from in front, it is all one big family and I feel blessed to have been a part of it all for so long.
IPSC has been a grounding influence for me. I have had some pretty tough rides in the last twenty years, as I’m sure many of you out there have as well, and IPSC (the sport itself and the people in it) has provided me with that one single beacon to focus on all the way through and I really believe that in many ways, that is what has kept me sane. There have been times when money has tight and competition had to take second place, but the people were always there to lend emotional support. In times of personal tragedy they were there again, and the sport itself has also given me that narrow beam of focus that I needed to carry me through my most difficult times.
On this forum and in this sport there have always been, and always will be, disagreements, debates, arguments….whatever. Some see that as a negative thing but I don’t, because that is how it is with any big family. People will often disagree about details, but we all seem to share the same common values and the same common passion, and that is what forms the invisible connective filaments that link us all. We should all never forget this.
But enough rambling! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year, and I wish you all the best for the coming season. I will see you all out at the matches -- hopefully for another twenty years at least!
Rob
Every year at this time I try to do an assessment of the year just past, both in terms of IPSC and in terms of everything else in my life, to see how things went and how I would like to change or improve them as I move forward. Usually I end up doing my R & D on my shooting techniques and/or my equipment as I try to find areas that I can improve on for the coming season. This year however feels a little different. I am still doing the same things I always do, but this season I have a more retrospective mindset than usual. This is because in the course of a casual conversation last week, someone pointed out something to me that gave me a bit of a start and it got me thinking about this “organism” we call IPSC in a different way.
The comment was that I was one of two people in Ontario that he knew of who had been in IPSC the longest, and until a few days ago I had never even considered this. I started shooting this sport back in 1985 or 86, and I have been addicted to it ever since. While there may indeed be a few out there who have been at it longer, most have not. Many have come and gone, but a few of us have stayed, and I suspect for many of the same reasons.
I have the attention span of a five year old. I need constant stimulation and challenge or I get bored very quickly. I have tried many sports in the past and many hobbies, and all have fallen by the way side. They just didn’t have enough of whatever it was that I needed to hold my interest. IPSC has kept me not only interested, but passionately so for all these years. There is always another level to climb to; always a lesson to learn or re-learn; always a new technique to discover; always a new technology to play with and always another division to try out. And then there are the people.
In no other facet of my life to I feel as connected to a group of people as I do in this sport. IPSC people are the best people. They are MY people. Sure, it’s a shameless bias but I have always felt this way. I felt this from the first day I came to an IPSC range to see what the game was all about, and I still feel it to this day. It is this sense of community that keeps me coming back, as much as it is the challenge of the sport itself. From the selfless R.O.’s, match organizers and officials who always give freely of their time to make our events as much fun as possible for all of us, to the rawest beginners who jump in with both feet, and the seasoned competitors who constantly push me from behind or pull me from in front, it is all one big family and I feel blessed to have been a part of it all for so long.
IPSC has been a grounding influence for me. I have had some pretty tough rides in the last twenty years, as I’m sure many of you out there have as well, and IPSC (the sport itself and the people in it) has provided me with that one single beacon to focus on all the way through and I really believe that in many ways, that is what has kept me sane. There have been times when money has tight and competition had to take second place, but the people were always there to lend emotional support. In times of personal tragedy they were there again, and the sport itself has also given me that narrow beam of focus that I needed to carry me through my most difficult times.
On this forum and in this sport there have always been, and always will be, disagreements, debates, arguments….whatever. Some see that as a negative thing but I don’t, because that is how it is with any big family. People will often disagree about details, but we all seem to share the same common values and the same common passion, and that is what forms the invisible connective filaments that link us all. We should all never forget this.
But enough rambling! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year, and I wish you all the best for the coming season. I will see you all out at the matches -- hopefully for another twenty years at least!
Rob
